The physical well being of a person is necessary to the longevity and enjoyment of life. A well balanced diet and physical exercise is important to the maintenance of a healthy body. A person can exercise the muscles and other organs of his/her body with or without the use of exercise equipment and devices. People have exercised various muscle groups of the body by walking, running, conducting isometric exercises, and other physical exercises such as sit-ups, deep knee bends, crunches, etc., all of which are beneficial. However, the use of equipment often facilitates the exercise of particular muscles, and also provides the user with an impetus for long term use thereof so as to obtain the optimum benefit.
A group of muscles of special importance to people in general is the abdominal group of muscles, including the upper and lower abdominal muscles, a well as the set of oblique muscles. This group of muscles is often highlighted by exercise enthusiasts because such group of muscles is readily observable, especially if the midriff portion of the body is exposed. Even if not exposed, a well proportioned abdominal musculature is nevertheless very apparent from outward appearances. Sit-ups have been a staple for persons desiring to trim and tone the abdominal muscles. More recently, abdominal crunches have been highlighted and emphasized to better sculpt and tone the abdominal muscles. To that end, there are a host of devices adapted for assisting a person to carry out abdominal crunches. One device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,987. These devices are somewhat portable and are generally cost effective for the home exerciser. Other exercise systems of the professional type may incorporate exercises for the abdominal muscles, but such systems are very expensive, not portable and require substantial room or space to accommodate the same.
There are yet other abdominal exercise devices which are hand-held devices that are pressed against the abdominal muscles during crunch-type exercises. One such device is illustrated in published U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0124474. The device includes handles for holding by the user to press a tensioned member against the abdominal muscles. In practice, a heavy duty elastomeric band is used to provide the tension to the member which is pressed against the abdominal muscles. The pressure exerted on the abdominal muscles is a function of how hard the user compresses the tensioned member against his/her abdominal muscles during a crunch exercise.
A more popular abdominal exercise involves the use of a large inflated ball, such as a Swiss ball. A person lays on the ball, with the ball located under the lower part of the person's back, also with the person's feet on the floor. The exercise involves lifting the upper trunk of the body, much like a crunch, to stretch and strengthen the abdominal muscles.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for an abdominal exerciser device that is cost effective, light weight and portable, is user friendly and is very effective in shaping and sculpting the abdominal and other muscles of the body.